SIGH - where to begin without sounding pompous? I enjoy Facebook - a lot. I like reading what my friends are doing and keeping up with relatives but lately I'm having a problem. My problem is the extreme polarization of the country (and apparently some of the people I've friended). This polarization and, in my opinion, the relative safety of posting inflammatory remarks from the comfort of ones home has become so extreme that it's very tempting to hide all postings from some people or to un-friend them completely. I really don't want to do that.
I've been interested in politics for a long time. I've known, as an adult, 7 presidents. Some I voted for, some I didn't. Some votes I've regretted! But I don't remember the nastiness that's currently being directed at the President - not even during Watergate with Richard Nixon. (I am NOT a crook!) I certainly didn't approve of the job that the previous President did, nor did I like the people around him. I was against his foreign policy and most, if not all, of his domestic policies. I complained and criticized. But I never called him anything except Mr. Bush, the President or President Bush (ok, sometimes just Bush). I never questioned his parentage, his birth, his patriotism. I was taught to respect the position - it wasn't necessary to like the occupant but I was to respect the title.
Maybe that's naive. But I think that the political discourse would be so much more productive if we just followed some rules like no name calling, or no yelling. If we didn't reward those who yell the loudest and how about some facts to back up the rhetoric? ( I like footnotes!)
Anyway - I like the people I've friended (and yes I know them) and don't want to lose any but I use FB as relaxation and sometimes the posts are anything but. Decisions to be made I suppose.
